The space company's blueprint sprawled across Neha's holographic desk like a carefully constructed illusion—orbital laboratories, lunar outposts, Mars habitat prototypes rendered in stunning detail. To any observer, it would appear revolutionary: humanity's next frontier, the natural evolution of CosmicVeda's clean energy dominance into stellar exploration. Arjun studied the designs with Neha, knowing that what the world would see bore little resemblance to what would actually be built. The real infrastructure existed nowhere on these displays.
"It's convincing," Arjun said, his voice carrying the appreciation of someone admiring a master forgery. "Exactly the kind of project people expect from me. Logical next step after powering civilization."
Neha leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, understanding flickering across her face. She'd worked with Arjun long enough to read the subtext beneath words. "Except we're not actually building space exploration infrastructure, are we?"
"Not primarily," Arjun confirmed. "The facilities will exist—orbital labs, Mars prototypes. But they'll be skeletons. Minimal staff, automated systems, publicly monitored. Enough to satisfy curiosity and justify budget allocation. The real work happens elsewhere. Hidden within the infrastructure."
"In the Sanctum," Neha said quietly. Not a question.
"In the Sanctum and in restricted zones that no one outside my authorization enters," Arjun replied. "You'll have access—certain areas, certain times. But this facility..." He gestured at the holographic blueprint. "It's camouflage. The world sees humanity reaching for stars. The truth is different."
Neha studied him for a long moment, calculating. She'd guided CosmicVeda through two decades of explosive growth without investors, without boards demanding returns, without the constraints that normal corporations faced. Private ownership meant absolute autonomy—funds could flow where Arjun directed without explanation, resources allocated by whim, entire divisions existing in shadows because no shareholder demanded accounting. CosmicVeda wasn't a company anymore; it was an extension of Arjun's will, infrastructure for civilization-building that happened to generate enormous profits as byproduct.
"How much?" she asked finally.
"₹1,00,000 crore for Phase One," Arjun replied. "Over five years. Enough to build the public-facing facilities and the hidden infrastructure beneath them. CosmicVeda's annual surplus covers it without stress."
"And the purpose of this hidden infrastructure?"
"Research," Arjun said. "Deep research that can't tolerate oversight or questions. Biological research. Enhancement technologies that will eventually reshape humanity, but not yet. Not until I'm ready to reveal them."
Neha nodded slowly, pieces clicking into place. "The solitude in the Sanctum. The miniature technologies you hinted at. You're not building space hardware. You're building people. Modifying humans to survive conditions they currently can't."
Arjun didn't confirm or deny, but his slight smile was answer enough. "I need the facility to be a fortress. Restricted access, security layers that make Fort Knox look open. Only you, me, Isha, and when the time comes, a few others I select. No tours, no media visits, no compromises."
"The world will wonder why," Neha observed. "Secret space facility, no public updates, billions invested with no visible progress."
"They'll speculate," Arjun agreed. "Some will think we're developing weapons. Others will assume cutting-edge propulsion systems we're keeping classified. Both misguided, but useful. The more they theorize, the less they look at what's actually happening. And what's actually happening requires complete isolation from public scrutiny."
Neha leaned forward, her CEO mind engaged despite the moral ambiguity of what Arjun was proposing. "You're asking CosmicVeda to become your personal research entity. Using company resources, company infrastructure, for projects that the company itself doesn't benefit from directly."
"The company benefits indirectly," Arjun replied. "When I'm ready to reveal these technologies, they'll reshape civilization. CosmicVeda, and you as my partner in this, will be synonymous with human transcendence. But yes—primarily, you're investing in my vision. My direction."
"That's enormous trust," Neha said quietly.
"I know," Arjun acknowledged. "You've earned it and given it in equal measure for two decades. I'm not asking lightly, and I'm not asking without understanding the implications. But Neha, the work I'm planning can't happen under scrutiny. Can't happen with oversight committees and ethics boards and media speculation. It can only happen in absolute privacy, with complete autonomy, where I'm accountable only to my own conscience and the knowledge that what I'm building serves humanity's future."
Neha was quiet for a long moment, then: "Show me the real plans. The hidden facility designs. I need to understand what I'm enabling before I commit CosmicVeda completely."
Arjun activated a separate holographic interface, one encrypted with security protocols that made the public blueprint look like child's drawings. A new structure materialized—not sprawling across orbital space, but concentrated, deep, shielded. Bio-laboratories with containment systems, quantum-shielded research chambers, holographic modeling suites, fabrication facilities for materials beyond standard chemistry. Everything interconnected, everything powered by systems that existed nowhere on public blueprints.
"The Sanctum's expansion," Neha breathed, understanding crystallizing. "This isn't a space facility at all. It's a mega-lab. Hidden underground."
"Disguised as a space company to justify the funding and the isolation," Arjun confirmed. "When construction completes, visitors will see orbital facilities and Mars habitats. What they won't see is the real work happening beneath a villa in Pune."
"And what exactly is the real work?"
Arjun paused, choosing honesty with care. "Biological enhancement. Two tiers. One for public—Stellar Vitality Protocol. Extended lifespan, radiation resistance, psychological resilience. Revolutionary but achievable. Humanity getting stronger through science."
"And the second tier?" Neha pressed.
"Guardian Protocol," Arjun said quietly. "For volunteers. Near-superhuman enhancements—cognitive acceleration, regenerative healing, precognitive intuition through quantum integration. The kind of modifications that don't remain secret once deployed."
Neha's expression shifted through shock, concern, and finally a kind of resigned understanding. "You're making yourself and selected others into something beyond human. And doing it secretly, under the guise of space exploration."
"I'm preparing for realities the world isn't ready to confront yet," Arjun replied. "Guardian Protocol stays hidden until Stellar Vitality proves acceptance and ethics around enhancement are solidified. Then I reveal both, and humanity decides how to proceed. But the research happens now, in isolation, without the premature moral panic that public knowledge would trigger."
"That's a lot of power concentrated in one person," Neha observed. "Your power. Your judgment. Your ethics the only check on what gets created."
"Yes," Arjun admitted. "And I accept responsibility for that. If I'm wrong, I face consequences alone. If I'm right, I've given humanity tools to transcend its limitations."
Neha stood, moving to her office window overlooking transformed Pune. Clean streets, holographic infrastructure, the hum of consciousness-integrated reactors powering everything invisibly. "CosmicVeda gave you the resources to reshape civilization," she said finally. "This expanded Sanctum, this hidden research facility—you're using those resources to reshape humanity itself. I'm not comfortable with that. But I understand why you're doing it."
She turned back to face him. "I'll fund it. I'll keep it hidden. I'll grant you whatever access and autonomy you need. Because I trust you, Arjun. More than I trust ethics boards or democratic process or the world's collective caution. You've shaped civilization responsibly so far. I'm betting you'll do the same with this."
Arjun exhaled, relief and gratitude mixing. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," Neha replied. "When this becomes public—and it will, eventually—I'm entangled in it. CosmicVeda is entangled in it. That's burden I'm accepting for you."
***
That evening, Arjun descended into the Sanctum with blueprints for expanded research chambers burning in his mind. The hidden facility would take five years to construct—discreetly, piece by piece, workers believing they were building space infrastructure while actually building bio-research bunkers. The public would see announcements about orbital labs. Journalists would speculate about Mars habitats. Engineers would be hired and rotated through restricted zones, their memories of exact specifications clouded by Isha's subtle adjustments to memory retention during their brief work stints. Perfect secrecy hidden behind transparent deception.
Kavya was waiting when he emerged hours later, having seen the holographic blueprints via the quantum phone's secure feed. She didn't question—had moved beyond questioning into acceptance that her husband was pursuing something cosmic in scope. "You're really doing this," she said simply.
"I'm really doing this," Arjun confirmed. "Making us ready for what comes next. Whatever that is."
Vihaan bounded down the stairs, excited. "Papa, did you finalize the space plans? When does construction start?"
Arjun pulled his son close, considering how much to share with a twelve-year-old. "Soon, beta. But the real work isn't what people will see. It's what happens hidden underneath—where we prepare for futures that require stronger bodies and sharper minds. You understand the concept of secrecy? Of building something in darkness that will change everything when revealed?"
Vihaan nodded seriously. "Like your secret projects in the Sanctum."
"Exactly like that," Arjun said. "And you'll be part of it. Learning as it develops. Ready to decide, when you're older, whether to join the Guardian Protocol. But that's your choice, not mine."
Isha's voice emerged from the quantum phone, present but not intrusive. "CosmicVeda's fund allocation approved. Hidden facility construction can commence immediately. I'll coordinate worker rotation and memory adjustment protocols to maintain operational secrecy."
Arjun nodded, the plan solidifying. The space company would become a shell—real enough to satisfy curiosity, hollow enough to hide truth. CosmicVeda's unlimited resources would flow into excavation and infrastructure development that no board could question. The world would see humanitarian genius pursuing the stars while ignoring that the real revolution was happening beneath their feet, in depths where consciousness and flesh merged into something unprecedented.
He gazed at Kavya and Vihaan, both accepting this new reality with the grace of people who'd learned to live alongside miracles. "Five years," he said quietly. "In five years, the facility is complete. Then the real research accelerates. Guardian Protocol begins Phase One trials. Everything changes."
"For us, or for the world?" Kavya asked.
"For us first," Arjun replied. "Then, when we're ready, for the world."
***
### **Year-End Summary**
**Year 25 | Arjun Age 45**
**Family:** Rajesh (78), Anita (75), Anaya (46), Rohit (38), Kavya (41), Vihaan (12 years)
**Major Development:** Hidden facility approved; space company established as cover story for Sanctum expansion; bio-research infrastructure planned for secret construction over 5 years; Guardian Protocol development authorized under CosmicVeda's private funding autonomy
**Company:**
- CosmicVeda: ₹7.5T valuation, 44,000 employees, 155 reactors, completely private (no external investors, unlimited autonomous fund allocation)
- "Cosmic Frontier" (public-facing space division): Shell company receiving ₹1,00,000 crore over 5 years for visible infrastructure camouflaging hidden bio-lab beneath Sanctum
**Personal:** Arjun, Neha (partner in secrecy), Isha (coordinator of deception), and eventually Vihaan privy to real plans; restricted access protocols established; 5-year construction timeline for expanded Sanctum bio-research facility
**Next:** Hidden facility construction begins; Guardian Protocol R&D accelerates in deepest chambers; public sees space company progress while reality operates in darkness
***